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Constant System Errors

Hey guys, I've got an ongoing problem now on my Windows XP laptop that is getting worse and worse. The problem started about 3 months ago, when my computer would randomly restart whenever it wanted to, and then it would give me a "serious error has occured" message upon logging into Windows. I just let it go, but there was a point that it was really bad where I was about to do something about it. However, it magically stopped occuring and hadn't been giving me much trouble. That period was probably only for half a month at most, and during that period, my computer would still restart, but just not as frequently. Now, the problem has progressed to the point where I can hardly use my computer - it restarts every 3 minutes. Thus, I'm rushing to fit this entire post in! I've logged on to the event viewer under system to see what type of system errors are causing this. There are 2 main errors that keep occuring and causing my computer to restart, 1st the most frequent one, says the following:

"The CMS PortIO Service service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified."

Of course, when the problem started happening, I tried doing a system restore to a previous date, but that did nothing. I searched on google for these errors and it's still hard to find a solution. Is my problem here software related, or perhaps hardware related (my laptop IS around 4 years old)?

The first error can be solved by disabling the "CMS PortIO" service. Since it is failing to start, stopping it from trying to start won't hurt.

Click on your Start Menu, then Run.

In the box that appears, copy in services.msc and hit OK. The Service Manager will open.

Look in the list of services for CMS PortIO. Right click it and select Properties.

Click the Startup Type dropdown and select Disabled.

Click OK to apply the settings and close out of the Service Manager.

The second error is likely related to a hardware driver. You can try to look in your device manager for any failing devices.

Click on your Start Menu, then Run.

In the box that appears, copy in devmgmt.msc and hit OK. The Device Manager will start.

Click the +'s to expand each of the categories. Look for entries marked with a yellow warning sign.

Post back with any faulty devices you find

Does the situation improve?

With Regards,The Panda

Hey Panda, thanks for the help. Unfortunately, CMS PortIO does not show up on my list in the service manager. Thus, there was no way I could turn it off. Second, there are no failing devices under device manager. If it helps at all, I forgot to add that each time my computer restarts, I get a BSOD saying something along the lines of "IRQL not less or equal" message. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I was able to view "hidden devices" on device manager, and there I saw an exclamation next to CMS Port IO service. There, I was able to disable the service. We'll see how that goes. But what would have caused my CMS PortIO service to go bad in the first place? Can I somehow reinstall CMS PortIO service?

Hey Panda, thanks for the help. Unfortunately, CMS PortIO does not show up on my list in the service manager. Thus, there was no way I could turn it off.

Sorry, I had assumed it was a service rather than a driver.

But what would have caused my CMS PortIO service to go bad in the first place? Can I somehow reinstall CMS PortIO service?

It could be that part of the driver software got damaged. I do not think this is an essential device.

However, if you want, you could go back to the Device Manager, right click on the CMS PortIO entry and select Uninstall.

Your computer should recongnize the "unknown" hardware and try to install the drivers for it. A restart may be needed. If it does not find a new device, then that piece of hardware may no longer be on your computer.

Panda, I went ahead and uninstalled the CMS PortIO service. However, my computer is still running into the same exact problem. Upon restarting, and the BSOD, windows event manager says the same message: "The CMS PortIO Service service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified." How could this be happening if I uninstalled CMS PortIO? It's not even listed under device manager anymore. Ideas?

Note- You may need to download the de-bugging tool listed in the references section to use this to it's full extent.

Also, maybe part of the error is that you removed the device or driver in question but there is still a registry entry that needs to be changed to disable the message. Windows is still thinking that the device or driver is installed but just can't find it.